Jeremy Lin drives to the bucket for two of his 22 points. / Debby Wong, USA TODAY Sports

by Jeff Zillgitt, USA TODAY Sports

by Jeff Zillgitt, USA TODAY Sports

NEW YORK - Plain ol' Jeremy Lin, starting point guard for the Houston Rockets, returned to Madison Square Garden, on Monday. No screaming crowds. No rock star reception. No Linsanity.

But he's still appreciated. When New York Knicks public address announcer Michael Walczewski introduced the teams, every Rockets player received boos except Lin, who heard cheers and even received a standing ovation from many fans.

Earlier in the day, Knicks superfan Spike Lee tweeted, "Tonight at Da Garden I Will Not Boo Jeremy Lin At His Introduction But After TIP-OFF." And, when Lin hit a layup in the opening minutes, Lee made good on that, as did those same fans who cheered him at introduction.

Lin gave them plenty more to boo. It might not have been the return of Linsanity, but there was some of that familiar magic.

He had 22 points, eight assists, four rebounds and two steals as the Rockets defeated the Knicks 109-96, giving New York its first home loss in 11 games this season. Rockets guard James Harden had 26 points and 10 rebounds.

The crowd got into the game and got after Lin late in the second quarter. Knicks center Tyson Chandler hammered Lin at the rim, and refs called Chandler for a flagrant foul one with 3:39 left in the half. Fans booed Lin when went to shoot his foul shots and cheered when he missed the first Lin. With 2:28 left in the second quarter, Lin airballed a three-point attempt, and the crowd let him know about that, too.

Two hours before the game started, Lin re-iterated he didn't know what to expect from the crowd, which went wild during his memorable and unbelievable seven weeks in February and March last season.

"I don't want to think about it too much," he said. "Just kind of let it happened. I'm going to be thankful no matter what, regardless of whatever the reception is."

Lin knows as well as any current or former Knick how special a reception can be in the Garden. He was the toast of the town last season, when the arena was electric with Lin putting on show after show.

"It was obviously a time in my life just being able to play basketball and for us to win games and to do it in the fashion we did was so much fun and energy and buzz," he said. "It's definitely something I'll remember forever.

"It will always have a special place no matter how long I play just because that was the beginning for me. Anytime you have a stretch like that, you'll remember it forever. It'll always have a special place in my heart for sure."

It doesn't mean New York interest was absent. Nearly 50 reporters packed the interview room pregame to ask Lin questions.

"Everything happens for a reason, and it happened the way it was supposed to," Lin said. "Going into the summer, I thought I'd be coming back to New York. There's no hard feelings either way. Right now, I'm in a different place in my life, a different chapter, different city, different team."

Lin fans still exist in New York, and they wore his No. 17 jersey - he wears No. 7 for the Rockets - at Monday's game.

"I'm Asian-American. He's Asian-American. We speak the language. But I'm also a fan of talent," said Eric Wong, who had on a Lin jersey. "Like everybody else, I rode the wave last season. I've been following him. He's a got a lot of talent. He's dedicated. I think he's just getting back in his groove after (April knee) surgery."

But it's clearly different for the fans. During the height of his run last season, he couldn't leave his apartment without people recognizing him. Sunday night, he had a quick dinner in New York and made it back to his hotel with no fanfare.

And it's clearly different for the Knicks. They entered Monday's game as the best team in the Eastern Conference. For all the love Lin received from Knicks fans last season, the Knicks are better off without him now, which he acknowledged.

"When they signed (guard Raymond) Felton ... he's done an unbelievable job this year. The team is rolling, and they deserve a lot of credit," Lin said.

Lin, who said it was weird walking into the Garden as a visitor, is focused on improving with his new team, in the light of calling his play "terrible" when asked by USA TODAY Sports to assess his game after Houston's 103-96 loss to the Toronto Raptors Sunday. He said he hoped returning to the Garden to play the Knicks brings closure to that chapter.

"The easy part for me is trying to make sure I don't (try to recreate last season)," he said. "As long as I do, I'm not really worried about too much about anything else. Our team, we have our expectations. We have our roles. I don't think anybody from the Rockets organization is expecting me to recreate anything."

Lin has struggled at times with occasional flourishes reminiscent of his play last season.

"It's been an up-and-down season. There have been good stretches and bad stretches, but it's all part of the growth and maturation of me as a young player," Lin said. "You grow the most, you evaluate yourself the most through tough times. No one became better, no one became great without going through adversity and challenges."